The purpose of this study was to determine what trends exist in the identification and description of participants used in data-based studies published in "Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly" and the "Journal of Teaching in Physical Education". Data were analyzed using frequency counts for journals and time periods from the 1980s to 2005 with chi-square tests on gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Results indicate, for example, that across the time span both journals published articles reporting males first over females, X[superscript 2] (3) = 22.16, p less than 0.001. Trend data also reveal that even today most data-based studies in these journals fail to report race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Findings are discussed with guiding principles for future research. (Contains 3 figures and 11 notes.)